Former NFL head coach Dave Wannstedt is more 'optimistic' about the Chicago Bears than he has been 'in the last 10 years'

It has not been a great run for the Chicago Bears as of late. The team last went to the Super Bowl in 2007 (where they lost the Indianapolis Colts) and their last appearance before that--during the "Monsters of the Midway" era--dates further back to 1985. Chicago hasn't even won a playoff game since 2010, and the organization is back to square one this season, featuring a new head coach and general manager.

Despite very little positives present for Bears' followers to hold onto, former NFL head coach Dave Wannstedt has a more hopeful outlook for this current iteration of the team.

Recently writing on The 32nd Team, a website full of features from former NFL coaches and executives, Wannstedt revealed that he's actually high on the Bears moving forward.

"This is the most optimistic I have felt about the Chicago Bears in the last 10 years," he wrote.

For Wannstedt, it comes down to Chicago's fresh start and the emphasis the organization has put on young players with high upside. New general manager Ryan Poles wasn't afraid to undergo massive turnover and start over in Chicago. He's building things his way and with his coach, defensive-minded first-time head coach Matt Eberflus.

"I think new general manager Ryan Poles is doing a great job. The easiest thing he could do was to be sentimental and keep Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks and Danny Trevathan, and some of these older players that have been banged up a little bit but can still play at a high level," Wannstedt wrote. "On the other side of the ball, Poles has gone with a complete youth movement. Led by Justin Fields, the youth is prevalent everywhere. The Bears let their one veteran weapon leave in Allen Robinson, but they still have talent in RB David Montgomery and TE Cole Kmet.

"Without doing what their front office has done, their offense would’ve been maturing and getting better and better and then a year or two from now they would’ve had to deal with these defensive guys from a contract standpoint. You look at that roster, and it’s filled with young players pretty much across the board. I like that part of it. They are going to grow together."

Chicago will have a ton of growing to do, especially as the team transitions from the 3-4 defense to Eberflus' 4-3 scheme.

With that said, the Bears do have a young quarterback with high upside in Fields, and they did spend their first two draft picks on young defensive players in corner Kyler Gordan (Pick No. 39) and safety Jaquan Brisker (Pick No. 48).

"I like what they are doing. They are really excited about their rookies. There are a lot of positives going forward," Wannstedt said.

Wannstedt was the head coach of the Bears from 1993 to 1998.